'Wynonna Earp' Episode 6: Is getting the Peacemaker back going to ruin Wynonna's life forever?
Spoilers for 'Wynonna Earp' Season 1 Episode 6 - 'Holy War Part Two'
There's a fine line between a curse and a destiny. It has nothing to do with how much you accept either. It's in how much one turns you into the worst version of yourself vs the very best. Wynonna Earp (Melanie Scrofano) may believe it's her destiny to be a demon-shooting superhero, but there's a reason that the magic tied to passing down Peacemaker was called the Earp Curse.
When the series began, Wynonna did not particularly want to have anything to do with the Earp Curse, or with the Peacemaker. As a child, her only interaction with a gun resulted in her accidentally killing her father. She did not spend her life trying to make up for this but was avoiding it. When she first decided to use the Peacemaker, she wasn't even a particularly good shot. Wynonna Earp wasn't really cut out for life as the Heir, but she quickly warmed to the role when she realized the power she had in her hands. Being a hero seemed to Wynonna to be the only thing she could stick with, but did Peacemaker make her a hero or a killer with a good excuse?
The Revenants seen in Purgatory aren't like demons seen in other shows. They appear to be able to tell right from wrong and to have a semblance of a soul. Some even turn out to be close to good people, drawn into a curse far beyond her control. With the Revenants gone, the demons left in Purgatory appear to be relatively low key. Wynonna's new foes, the Clantons, are simple humans. They're filled with hate, yes, but presumably still have their souls. If there's a line between being a hero and a murderer, then Wynonna crossed it when she shot Holt Clanton (Ty Olsson) in the back after Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon) had negotiated a peace between the Clantons and the Earps.
Wynonna began the season without the reassuring weight of the Peacemaker on her hip. She was clearly lost without it and she did not know who she was without the purpose and the power that the gun gave her. Before we have a chance to see what kind of hero Wynonna could become without the gun, she found where it was hidden. Noteworthy is the fact that the gun ignored her at first, as it was not until Wynonna said the words "I'm a killer" that the gun lit up, and flew back to her hands.
Wynonna had a choice for the first time in Earp history. The Curse was broken, and what's more, there was a chance to bury the hatchets with the Clantons, ending a cycle of violence for good. Wynonna could have gone on to a normal life, or some version of it that does not involve fighting against demons till the day one actually kills her. While one could argue that she's afraid of the enemies that just keep coming for her and her family, the last episode revealed that's not what terrifies Wynonna. She's afraid of a normal life, and the powerlessness she believes that brings.
The Peacemaker has proven to be anything but. It has no illusions about what it is -- a weapon of violence, a tool of killers -- which is likely why it abandoned Wynonna once the Earp Curse was broken. It likely believed that she had no room for killing now that she was no longer bound to the Revenants. However, there's always more room for violence, and Wynonna has embraced it wholeheartedly. Reunited with her weapon of choice, Wynonna's made her darkest choice yet and this might just be the start.
'Wynonna Earp' Season 4 will return in 2021.